Shrubsole And Watkins Lead Participation Drive

England bowler Anya Shrubsole and New Zealand captain Aimee Watkins met the women and girls of Axminster Cricket Club in Devon, before joining up with their respective teams next week ahead of the NatWest Women’s Series.

The visit was part of efforts to boost participation levels in women’s and girls’ cricket, ahead of England’s three NatWest Women's International T20 matches and the NatWest Women’s One Day International Series against the Kiwis.

Anya Shrubsole said: "It’s great to see the girls down here, the more girls that get involved the better, I hope they will enjoy coming along to one of our games this summer.

“2009 was so successful for us, we had a blip over the winter, but we are back to winning ways. The Kiwis will be coming at us hard I’m sure, so it should be an exciting summer, I’m looking forward to it."

Aimee Watkins added "I enjoy coaching and hope that the girls have enjoyed it too. I’m always encouraging women and girls to get involved in cricket. Playing England is always something to look forward to."

England Women will play New Zealand Women in the first of the three NatWest Women's International T20 matches at the Rose Bowl, Chelmsford on June 29.

All the NatWest Women's International T20 matches will be played directly before Friends Provident t20 fixtures and broadcast live on Sky Sports.